It isn't gone yet, but after this week's budget it's certainly time to say good-bye to the Canadian penny! Come this fall, the Royal Canadian Mint is going to stop producing and distributing pennies to banks. We'll still be able to use pennies in cash transactions, but if they're not available then prices will be rounded (up or down) to the nearest five cents. All those people (I'm one) with jars of pennies stashed away will still be able to redeem them at banks. Of course we'll probably have to roll them all first, which is one of the reasons they haven't been turned in before now.
However, since it costs 1.6 cents to produce each new penny, and the move away from them will save $11 million a year, it's time it was done. Next, it's the nickel's turn.
Photo: Pierre Desrosiers / Getty Images
See Also: Canadian Currency
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